Modern concepts for industrial automation are based on the idea of a decentralized control system. The control task to be executed is distributed to the control nodes of the decentralized control system in a geographically and functionally optimal manner. Therein, the control nodes communicate with each other and with the superordinate systems via industrial local networks. Due to the decentralized control system the efforts with regard to communication may be reduced since the individual control nodes take over control tasks relating to their own areas autonomously and only have to communicate with the further control nodes or the superordinate systems, respectively, for the purpose of coordination. Therein, the decentralized control system is based on the basic idea of splitting the automation task into individual modules which are functionally and logically complete and which may then be arranged in close proximity to the process, reducing the efforts for wiring and installation. By the subdivision into modules, the complexity may be reduced so that functions may be realized more easily.
Open systems are another trend used in automation technology, allowing the user to combine automation components from various manufacturers. This gives the user the possibility of making use of the best technical solution for individual subtasks, respectively, and also of choosing the manufacturer having the most favorable prices. An essential requirement to the automation components in open systems is that they have to provide connectability, i.e. the individual automation components have in principal to be capable of exchanging data with each other. Furthermore, open systems require the automation components to be interoperable, i.e. the individual automation components have to comprise defined profiles in order to guarantee for cooperation in executing the automation task. Finally, in open systems the interchangeability of automation components from various manufacturers is required, i.e. the devices from the manufacturers have to comprise the same functional range.
In spite of the trend in automation technology to use decentralized open systems and the cost benefits resulting therefrom, the problem of “return-of-investment” increasingly comes up in automation technology due to the increasingly shortening product lifetimes. Modern products are already manufactured such that they may be easily produced automatically. However, the automation systems for manufacturing the products are generally configured specifically for the product and may therefore only be adapted to changes in the product and the process under high efforts.